


In the Snow

by TanyaReed



Category: due South
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-04
Updated: 2012-12-04
Packaged: 2017-11-20 06:05:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanyaReed/pseuds/TanyaReed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Meg runs into a problem on the way to visit her sister.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ainsley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainsley/gifts).



> I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to write for this or how I wanted to do it, but I ended up really liking what came out. I really hope that you have a great Christmas, Ainsley, and I hope that you enjoy this story. Thanks for requesting it because I'm really glad I got to write it.
> 
> Also, thank you so, so much to my beta (who shall also be revealed after the reveal. ;) )

Meg Thatcher sighed as she peered through her windshield. The snow was coming fast and furiously now and, coupled with the darkness beyond, it seemed as if her car was the only object in the universe.

It might be unCanadian of her, but she had never liked driving in the snow. In Chicago, she had gotten around that by walking to work. But she wasn't in Chicago now. She was in the middle of rural Ontario, on her way to pick up her sister for the holidays. They would be spending Christmas with their father for the first time in years.

It was becoming more obvious by the second that she should have waited until morning. The roads were slippery and visibility was almost nil.

The snowflakes themselves were almost hypnotic. They were large and fluffy and floated gently down to melt on her windshield. It was making her drowsy when she should be at her most alert.

It was getting bad enough now that she had to guess at the middle of the road. The centre line was buried, and Meg was driving as close as she could to where she guessed it must be. She was afraid that if she didn't, she would drive off the invisible shoulder.

At least she hadn't seen another car for ages and didn't have to worry about hitting anyone or having them hit her.

Meg tried to focus on the warm house and welcoming sister that were waiting for her at the end of her journey. It was long past the midway point, and her only choice was to keep going.

She was jolting herself awake for probably the millionth time when something caught her eye in the ditch on the side of the road. It looked almost like a light but when Meg blinked it was gone.

The snow was so thick that Meg couldn't be sure she saw anything. The wind was picking it up and blowing it across her hood. The hypnotizing flakes were turning into a swirling mass.

Meg nearly passed the spot, blaming the storm for making her see things. Almost against her will, she found herself slowing down. She knew it was probably nothing, but she couldn't live with the consequences if she were wrong.

Carefully, she pulled as far over to the side of the road as she dared. She didn't turn off her car, but she put it in park. After turning on her four-way flashers, Meg reached into her dash for the flashlight she kept there for emergencies. She tried not to think of what it would feel like to step out of her car into the cold wind and blowing snow.

There were no street lights, and the world was as dark as sin as Meg opened her door. Snow puffed into her face, immediately stinging her cheeks and sticking to her eyelashes. She was grateful for her gloves but wished she had thought to wear a hat.

The snow was deep enough to go over the tops of her short boots. She winced as the cold and wet seeped into her feet.

Trying to ignore her discomfort, Meg went around the front of her car. She blinked and turned her face away. The way the snow was falling, her lights probably wouldn't illuminate very far, so she didn't dare to stray too far from her vehicle. She'd just go far enough to convince herself she hadn't seen anything.

Meg struggled against the wind to what must have been close to the edge of the ditch. Her eyes widened, making tears gather from the wind and snow, as she saw that she hadn't been mistaken. There was a car buried deeply in a large snowbank. It was small and so white it was almost invisible among the swirling flakes. The only reason it was visible at all was the weak light coming from its taillights. 

Meg took this all in in a glance, also noting that smoke was coming from the exhaust. The car was still going, which meant that someone had recently crashed and they were still in there...and they'd never be able to get out on their own.

The car was a two door; one side was pressed up against a bank of snow, and the other was buried deep enough to prevent the door from opening and to cover most of the window.

Completely forgetting her discomfort, Meg hurried down the shallow bank, slipping and sliding.

She tapped on the tiny backseat window and asked, “Are you okay?”

Her voice was lost in the wind, but she was startled when a small face suddenly appeared in the light from her flashlight. She let out a squeak and stumbled, somehow managing to remain upright.

It took her a second to realize the face belonged to a child, a small one.

“Everything's going to be fine,” she practically yelled, trying to get sound through the wind and glass. “I'm going to get you out of there.”

The snow was heavy on the door, but it was still mostly soft. No knowing what else to do, she stuck her flashlight in her mouth and started digging. Her hands were soon numb, but she kept moving the snow. It was wet and clung to her gloves in balls that made it hard to grab more. 

The wind and snow continued to bite her face and sting her eyes, but she kept on diligently, slowly clearing the window.

As it appeared, the glow from the flashlight glinted off the glass, reflecting back at her. Meg couldn't tell how many other people were in the car with the child.

Meg was out of breath, her lungs burning from cold, when she had moved enough snow that she thought people could slip through.

When she reached up to grab her flashlight, it fell through her stiff fingers into the snow. It taunted her from the hole it made, and the world around her went dark. All that existed was a faint red shimmer in front of her.

Meg bit back a curse and rooted around in the snowbank. Her clothes were so wet now that she was starting to shiver.

Because she had so little feeling left in her hands—and what she did have was pain—it took her longer than she would have liked to fish out her flashlight. She carefully cleaned off the lens and flashed it towards the car, illuminating a scared face in the open window.

The driver was a woman—young, maybe in her early twenties. Her curly red hair was in wild disarray, and the only color in her face came from its many freckles.

“Hi,” Meg said. She was close enough that she was pretty sure her voice would carry. “Are you okay?”

“I hurt my ankle in the crash. I don't know if I'll be able to walk on it.”

Meg shined her light around and saw that the passenger seat was empty, so it was only the woman and the child.

“I'll help you. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. First, we've got to get your son out.”

The woman nodded.

Meg could feel the heat from the inside of the car brushing her face, and it made her nose ache. She blinked flakes off of her lashes and felt them melting on her cheeks as the woman undid her seatbelt and turned slightly.

Her knuckles were white as she clenched the steering wheel, but her voice was strong as she asked, “Duncan, sweetie, can you get out of your car seat?”

“I'll try, Mommy.”

There was some scrambling and grunting before the small face that had startled Meg appeared between the seats. 

“Come into the front. You need to go out the window with this woman.”

“Meg,” Meg offered.

“Meg. You need to go with Meg, sweetie.”

“What about you?” His eyes widened.

“Don't worry,” Meg told him. “I'm going to get your mother out too. You can trust me. I'm a Mountie.”

His little face scrunched up. “You don't look like a Mountie.”

Meg smiled at him. “I can't be riding a horse in a red suit all of the time.”

“Are you really a cop?” the red-haired woman asked.

“Yes.”

A bit of relief came to her face. “Come on, Duncan. Go to Meg.”

As he crawled into the front seat, Meg saw that he was even younger than she expected. He was probably only about four, and he would come through the window easily. His mother might pose more of a challenge.

She held out her arms and, when his mom gave him a little pat on the bum, he trustingly came out of the window into them. He was wearing a thick jacket and mittens, but his head was bare.

“Are you all right?” Meg asked gently as she flipped up his hood.

“It was scary...the car slipped...”

“It's okay.” She gave him a brief hug. “I'm going to bring you up to my car where it's warm, then I'm going to come back for your mother. Can you stay in the car and be a good boy for me?”

She thought he was beautiful. He had big eyes with lashes so light they were almost invisible and a nose full of freckles.

“Will it be dark?”

“I'll put on the inside light for you.”

“And you'll bring my mommy?”

“I promise.”

“Okay.”

Meg pressed Duncan's face against her neck to protect it. She knew her flesh was cold but it couldn't be as cold as the wind and snow whipping around them.

She handed Duncan's mother the flashlight and headed towards her four-way flashers, which were just visible through the snow.

She slowly made her way up the bank. Her tracks were already covered over, and she had to make new ones. Meg bowed her head against the storm and trudged on.

It seemed to take hours to get to her car. When she did, she gratefully opened the door and let Duncan climb inside. She leaned over him to switch on the overhead light and the radio.

“Stay here. We'll be back as soon as we can. Don't worry. If someone stops, tell them where we are. Can you do that, Duncan?”

“Yes...Meg?”

“What is it?”

“Can I ride your horse?”

Amusement lightened her slightly. “We'll see what your mother says.”

Meg shut the door firmly and immediately missed the heat and light. Shrugging this off, she let herself slide back down the ditch, barely managing to stay on her feet.

When she got back to the window, the woman had closed it to keep out the snow. Meg tapped on it lightly and it rolled down slowly.

“How are you doing?...What should I call you?”

“Amanda. My name is Amanda.”

“Amanda. How are you feeling?”

“My ankle is throbbing. I don't know if it's broken or just badly wrenched.”

“We'll get you where you're going, and then I'll check it out. It happens that I know a bit about fractures. I'll be able to see if you need to go to the emergency room. For now, let's just worry about getting you out of there. I think the easiest thing for you to do would be to turn around and come out backwards. I'll loop my arms around your chest and help pull you out. Okay?”

“I'll try.”

Amanda pulled her legs up slowly and got them up onto the seat. Even with the wind, Meg heard her small gasp of pain. Unfortunately, it was going to get worse before it got better.

“This might hurt,” she warned, “but you can't stay in here.”

“I know. It's okay. Just get me to my son.”

She scooted as close to the door as she could, then used her good leg and arms to leverage herself out the window. As soon as she could, Meg wrapped her arms firmly around her.

“Does that feel all right?”

“I'm fine.”

“I'm going to pull now. Put your hands on the roof and help me.”

Amanda was svelte, but it was still all Meg could do to pull her out of the car. The angle was very awkward, and the snow still covering most of the door made it hard to keep a good grip.

Meg tried to keep her hands locked together, and Amanda's help gave her the extra strength she needed. It took several minutes, but eventually Amanda was sliding through the window and into the snow.

“Oh, that's cold.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Meg said in dry amusement as she reached through the window to turn off the car. Luckily, the snow hadn't been enough to kill the engine or the boy and his mother would have been even worse off.

Amanda struggled in the deep drift until Meg helped her to her feet. Well, foot because she cried out and swayed as soon as she tried to put weight on her right.

“Okay, we're almost to the warm safety of my car. Are you ready, Amanda? We just have to make it up out of the ditch.”

“How can I...?”

“I'm going to help you. Put your arm around my shoulders.”

Meg couldn't see Amanda's face, but the flashlight gave dizzying flashes of the world around them from where it rested in Amanda's pocket. 

“Do you think we can?”

“We have to.”

Amanda sighed and slid her arm around Meg. Meg put her own arm around Amanda's waist, holding her tightly.

“You'd better take out the light.”

It bobbed as Amanda shined it up the bank. Meg could actually see part of her car.

“I think the snow is slowing, and the wind seems to be dying down.”

The bank was slippery. It had been hard to trudge up and down on her own, but supporting someone else made it almost impossible. Her feet kept slipping out from under her.

After their third fall, she almost felt like giving up. Still, giving up was not in her nature, and never had been. She certainly wouldn't give up when Amanda's and Duncan's lives were at stake.

“Come on, Amanda. One more try.”

Somehow, they managed to right themselves and finally make their way out of the ditch. Duncan was watching them from the car, his face pressed to the glass, but Meg didn't know how much he could really see in the darkness.

“We're almost there,” Meg said encouragingly as the wind whipped more snow into their faces.

The car seemed to be kilometres away instead of mere metres as they made their way slowly towards it. Meg forced herself to concentrate on putting her feet one in front of the other instead of thinking of the heavenly warmth of the car. Besides, she knew from experience that before the warmth felt good, there would be pain. Lots and lots of pain.

Relief flooded Meg when they finally hobbled up to the passenger door. It didn't matter that she still had a long drive to go in treacherous conditions. For now, the three of them would be safe and warm.

Meg wasted no time getting Amanda into the car and buckling Duncan into the back. Then, she gratefully sank into the front seat to absorb the heat.

She had been right about the pain. It was almost excruciating as feeling came back into her numb limbs, and her fingers wanted to curl up into protective fists. Instead, she pulled off her wet gloves and forced her hands to remain straight as she waved them in front of the heater. Her toes, which were just as numb, protested when she wiggled them in her boots. The heat coming from under her dash made them ache as much as her fingers. It took all she had to force back the whimper that gathered in her throat.

“Meg,” Amanda said softly.

“Yes?” Meg looked at her expectantly to see tears had formed in her eyes.

“I just wanted to thank you...for finding us...for getting us out. If you hadn't stopped...”

“Anyone would have done it,” she said firmly. “I'm just glad the two of you are safe.”

Amanda gave a small smile. “Yeah. Me too.”


End file.
